$2.50 Indian Gold Coin

$2.50 Indian Gold Quarter Eagle Quick Facts

Last of a distinguished line

Design by Bela Lyon Pratt

.12094 oz. pure gold

Mintage: 1908-1915; 1925-1929

The $2.50 Indian Gold Quarter Eagle — born to be beautiful

The $2.50 Indian Gold Quarter Eagle was the product of a most unusual war. At the turn of the twentieth century, countries were vying to create the most beautiful coinage in the world, and Teddy Roosevelt was not one to pass up the challenge.
The design fell to Bela Lyon Pratt on the death of his mentor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and he rose to the challenge admirably. Pratt opted to break from the expected depiction of Lady Liberty as a Native American on the obverse, which instead bears the chiseled features of an Indian chief in a full-feathered headdress. For the reverse, however, Pratt employed Saint-Gaudens’ iconic eagle design.
Unique to American coinage, Pratt’s designs are not raised, but incused — hammered into the surface. While this made possible the intricate details of his design, it did not go over well with the public, who feared the recesses would harbor bacteria.
The unrivaled beauty of the $2.50 Indian Gold Quarter Eagle aptly closed out a long and proud American tradition.